I don't normally like to think of this blog as something political, but I came across an interesting article in the LA Times this morning and thought it is important to pass this along. The story is of an LA man who needed a liver transplant to save his life. Blue Cross agreed to pay for the transplant, but the waiting list at UCLA medical center was so long that the man feared he would die before he was able to get the transplant. He chose to go to Indiana instead and waited 6 weeks instead of over 2 years. Blue Cross refused to cover the out of state procedure and the man was left on the hook for $206,000.
This is a clear right vs. wrong situation. The purpose of a healthcare system is firstly to save lives, plain and simple. Blue Cross, being driven by greed and willing to do whatever is necessary to keep their pockets fat was willing to let a man die over $200 grand. Now the court has ruled that not only must they pay his medical fees, but also his legal fees which I am sure will be far greater.
This is a feel good story, but I can only imagine what would have happened if the average middle or lower class person was in this same situation. They would have either lost their life or lost everything they owned to pay for the procedure. This is a perfect example of why the only solution to the healthcare mess in this country is to create a not for profit public insurance program. There are problems with any system, whether it is a for profit company such Blue Cross, or a public government run system such as in Europe or Canada and most other civilized countries, but a not-for profit system will put the needs of its clients first. In the last several years, we have seen massive greed and aloof management bring down many banks and other large companies. The greed that controls the health insurers will only insure that things get worse for their customers.
